Bab 26: Team Kurenai (2)
It was barely past dawn, but Kiba was already restless. When Hikari went over to the backyard to hang the laundry, she saw him doing push-ups on the ground.
"How rare, the sleepyhead managed to wake up at this hour."
"Bug off. I have an important test today!" He leaped up to his feet.
"Didn't you pass the graduation exam already?"
"It's a different one. Anyway, if I fail, I'll get sent back to the academy. No way I'm gonna let that happen!"
He glanced at the clock in the living room. There was still an hour before the designated time, but it wouldn't be bad to get there early.
"No time to talk, I gotta go!"
"Oh. Good luck."
"I won't need luck, it'll be a cinch!" He laughed. "Hey, if I pass, make me that steak from before!"
"Sure, sure," she nonchalantly replied, focusing her attention at the laundry.
Anyway, Daji would be with him, so it should be fine.
---
The result of yesterday's observation was that each Jonin has their own way to test their team members. The easiest would be a simple display of skills, while other Jonin might employ psychological warfare to test their Genin's performance under duress.
Which one would be Kurenai's test?
Unfortunately, the seniors weren't willing to divulge that information. They said it was necessary for them to figure out by themselves at the time of the test. Just imparting those bits of information was already considered generous.
The trio decided to outfit themselves with standard shinobi supplies, just in case the test would be a physical exercise.
"I see that you're early. That's good. Eagerness is the sign of a good pupil."
Kurenai arrived right at the promised time.
"Alright. Line up right beside each other, then stand straight."
The kids scrambled into position with Kiba on the left, Hinata in the middle, and Shino on the right.
When they were done, she walked forward until she was right in front of them. Suddenly, she raised her right arm, and then sent a quick jab at Kiba's neck.
"Eh?!"
Without stopping, she moved to the right, hitting Hinata on her left shoulder. Finally, her fingers moved toward Shino, hitting him on his right arm.
"T-Teacher?"
The kids quickly leaped back, wary of further attacks.
"Does it hurt?" Kurenai asked.
"Huh?"
Ah, that's right, it didn't. They rubbed the spot that Kurenai had hit them at, puzzled by what had just happened.
"Don't worry, I'm not pulling any 'you have to be wary of sudden attack' here. Although, that's also a good lesson to learn," she smiled. "Have you memorized the place where you got hit?"
They nodded in unison.
"The test is easy. I'll go into hiding, and you'll be given the task of chasing me. In order to pass, you have to hit me in the same spot. Any question?"
Ah, so it was indeed a physical exercise!
Shino raised his hand.
"How far do we have to search? Also, is weapon allowed?"
"W-weapon...?" Hinata shuddered. "B-but, she's our t-teacher..."
"Can we afford to hold back against a Jonin?" Shino replied.
"Hmm, that's a good question, Shino. It seems that you have the knack for analyzing the situation. It would be useful in a mission."
Kurenai nodded with satisfaction.
"The search range will be confined within this patch of woods. I won't go beyond the paved roads around it. You're also allowed to use any weapons or jutsu that you know. Like Shino said, I don't want you to hold back. Actually, I'll make sure that you can't even think of it."
She flashed a dangerous smirk, sending shivers down their spine.
"Any other questions? No? Alright. You have until the sun is up in the sky to catch me. Anyone who failed will have to repeat another year in the academy. Ready?"
The trio gulped before readying their stances.
"Begin!"
Kurenai's voice echoed throughout the woods, producing a chilling atmosphere.
Just as they had planned, Kiba had lunged right at Kurenai, while Hinata and Shino went around from left and right to block her escape route.
However, they were one tiny step too late.
When Kiba came into contact with Kurenai, she let out a cloud of smoke, leaving a wooden log behind.
"B-Body Replacement-!"
"Good teamwork!" Kurenai hollered from above. She was already hidden behind the thick foliages. "However, you're too naive if you think a Jonin will fall to that simple plan! Well then, don't disappoint me now."
Her voice disappeared. The forest once again fell into silence.
The truth was, they had also heard that the test would be tailored for a specific team's strength. In their case, considering their lineup, there was a high chance that Kurenai would emphasize their tracking ability.
It turned out that they were right on the money.
"Interesting! Let me tell ya, there's nobody in Konoha who has a better nose than me and Akamaru! I'll definitely catch you, just you see!"
Woof!
Akamaru barked to show his agreement.
"Then, we'll proceed as planned," Shino remarked. "I'll scatter my bugs to slowly cover this area. Kiba is in charge of locating Teacher's smell and chasing her when the time comes. Hinata, use your wide-range vision to cover our perimeter and see if Teacher is coming near. Can you do it?"
"I-I'll try my best!"
She swiftly performed a set of hand seals. The veins around her temple rapidly bulged out as her Byakugan activated.
Her vision suddenly broadened up, covering everything around them in a fifty-meters radius.
"Did you find her?" Kiba asked.
Hinata shook her head.
"Let's move then. Kiba will take the lead. I'll cover the rear. Teacher cannot breach our defense as long as Hinata still stands, so she most likely will target her first."
"I get what you mean," Kiba knocked his fists together. "Don't worry, leave it to me! Let's move out!"
The trio leaped at once, officially starting the chase.
---
During tracking missions, the shinobi in charge shouldn't just focus on going forward. They also had to deal with enemy attacks, especially from the people tasked to prevent them from reaching their target. Not just their offense, but their defense had to be honed as well.
For that reason, Kurenai didn't stop at just hiding. She also attempted to attack them.
She emerged from behind a bush just slightly beyond Hinata's Byakugan's range, and then threw a shuriken at the blue-haired girl while using Body Flicker Technique at the same time to appear on the other side of the trio.
However, the shuriken was stopped in mid-air by Shino's insect.
"Kiba! Left!"
"Yosh!"
Thanks to the Byakugan, Hinata could predict Kurenai's movement even before she had finished performing it. Right as she appeared at the end of Body Flicker, Kiba had already arrived at her position.
"Here I go, Teacher!"
He threw a straight punch toward Kurenai's neck, precisely at the same spot that she had hit him earlier.
However, the sensation that came when he made contact caused him to frown.
There was another cloud of smoke, and a wooden log flew out of it after getting hit by Kiba's fist.
"Damn it!"
It was yet another Body Replacement Technique!
"Better luck next time," she said before disappearing once again.
Kurenai had to admit that, even though they were rookies, their synergy was quite excellent.
Hinata might fall more on the timid side, but with the boisterous Kiba leading the way and the calm Shino ready to support them from the back, she was able to at least keep up with their pace.
"It seems that there was nothing to complain about in that aspect."
Kiba was fuming. He was extremely confident with his speed, so losing to Kurenai twice in a row had really agitated him.
"Didn't she just come out from using Body Flicker? How could she use Body Replacement almost immediately?"
"This is the level of a Jonin," Shino calmly commented. "When we're doing missions in the real world, this is the kind of monster that we will face."
"Tch... I know!"
That was precisely why he was so upset. He was so excited after defeating Mizuki back then, and yet it turned out that he was just another frog in the well. Compared to Kurenai, Mizuki was just a sham.
So this is a real shinobi of the Leaf!
"Let's try again! I've got her scent just now, so I'll be able to track her! Also, Shino, how're things on your end?"
He made an OK sign with his fingers.
"Alright, follow me!"
Woof!
Accompanied by Akamaru's energetic bark, the trio pressed through.
How many hours had passed?
Even Kiba, who was usually full of energy, was starting to tire out. He took a glance behind him. Shino was still as expressionless as always, but he could tell from his chest movement that he was also running on fumes right now.
As for Hinata... she was the worst out of the three.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Hinata was the center of their defense. If they stayed in the open without her Byakugan, they would be nothing but sitting ducks for the Jonin to pick up at leisure. Therefore, they had to stop and hide from time to time in order to save Hinata's energy.
Kurenai was also aware that Hinata couldn't keep the Byakugan active all the time. The Jonin would keep running around while she was maintaining the dojutsu. The moment Hinata was about to run out of steam, she would switch back to the offense.
The trio had so many close calls thanks to that.
At the moment, they were hiding under a thick shrubbery as they tried to catch their breath. Hinata was looking pale. She was clearly overextending her eyes.
"We really... need to think of a good plan... can't rely on Hinata all the time..." Kiba said between his panting. He wasn't so pathetic that he would let a girl shoulder all the burden.
"Kiba," Shino suddenly called. The stoic boy showed a thumbs up.
Kiba's face brightened up in an instant.
"Eh...?" Hinata, who was leaning on Kiba's shoulder while resting her throbbing eyes, was surprised by his sudden movement. "W-what happened...? A-are we being attacked...?"
"No, no, it's the other way around," Kiba grinned. He then looked up at the sky. With how far the sun had climbed, they didn't have a lot of time left. Perhaps, they only had one more chance to strike.
"It's time to finish this!" He declared, full of confidence.
---
Kurenai peeked from her hiding spot, trying to find those kids. The time was almost up, and yet they still hadn't come. Did they decide to give up?
At that moment, she noticed that something was approaching her from above!
"Oryaaa! Eat this! Fang Over Fang!"
Ah-roooo!
Both Kiba and Akamaru spun at the same time, tremendously increasing their falling speed.
Before Kurenai could do anything, the twin drills had crashed on her, pushing her down to the ground.
Or so they thought.
What they had hit was yet another wooden log. She even made it bigger this time to account for them attacking together!
"Damn it, failed again?!"
"Well done. I'll at least praise you for finally catching up to me," Kurenai said while jumping upward.
When her feet landed on a branch, however, the smile on her face withered away in an instant.
"My chakra-!"
She looked down. The branch she was standing on was covered by a shroud of dark-colored insects that had crawled out from small holes on the surface.
More bugs rained down from the foliage, landing on her arms and shoulders.
"Heheheh, Shino had this entire woods covered with his bugs! We were just waiting for you to finally fall in our trap!"
Kurenai quickly leaped away from the infested branches, but it was already too late. Her momentary lapse had allowed Kiba and the rest to catch up.
She dodged a palm strike from Hinata, and then a kick from Shino. However, she was already spent. By the time that Kiba joined the fray, she couldn't avoid his attack.
Kiba's fist finally managed to connect with his target.
The Jonin fell on her knees, heaving for breath. With her chakra drained by Shino's bugs, there was little that she could do to retaliate.
"We caught up with you, Teacher! How is it? Good enough for ya?" Kiba hollered, looking really smug.
Kurenai looked up, her gaze directly meeting up with her pupils.
"Great. You guys did great," she flashed them a smile. "However..."
She suddenly disappeared from their sight.
As if defying the law of nature, she was still able to activate Body Flicker Technique, allowing her to pop up right behind Hinata.
"...You should finish your opponent before they could recover."
It was a nightmare.
Kurenai had drawn her kunai, and slit Hinata's neck open in one fluid motion.
Blood burst out from the would as the girl trembled, giving Kurenai one last look of disbelief before falling on the ground.
As the sound of her heartbeat slowly faded away, Kiba felt a chill running through his body.
"H-Hinata...?"
There was no reply. Because she had-
"HINATAAAA!"
"Kiba! Don't panic!" Shino ran over to him, trying to calm him down. However, that turned out to be a costly mistake.
At that moment, he had let his guard down.
Kurenai flickered away almost instantly to his side, the kunai on her hand glistening with blood.
"Lesson number two. Never take your eyes off your opponent."
A sickening noise echoed in the air as the cold steel on her hand sank into Shino's stomach.
"S-Sh-"
That was a lie, right?
The Aburame had bugs crawling under their skin. Surely they would protect their owner, right? That blade wouldn't be able to pierce through Shino's skin, right?
Right?
However, no matter how much he wanted to deny it, the scenery right in front of his eyes had proven otherwise.
Shino laid sprawled on the ground, blood spurting out of his grotesquely-cut belly. His beloved kikaichu scampered away, although a few remained on his body as if mourning for the loss of their owner.
Kiba was cradling Hinata's dead body in his arms. As he watched his friends getting killed one after another, his vision started to blur.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything, but in the end, only a pitiful scream came out.
The boy's mind...
"Uaaaaaargh!"
…slowly succumbed to the darkness.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
RanixAurus
RanixAurus Well, is that shocking enough for you? XD
Thus, Kiba will embark in Sasuke-like journey of revenge and redemption as he try to kill Kurenai. Maybe he'll steal Sasuke's eyes and awaken his own Sharingan and create a wolf-shaped Susano-o... who knows?
Let author know if it's a good direction for the story. Author really thought a lot to make this surprise for you guys, hehe~
-Sneaky Author
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone